Super storm Sandy

Walls of water

"Don't go outside. It's extremely dangerous" - it is messages like these that mayors and governors send out on twitter to the American public. Those who still had to go outside - like these pedestrians in Brooklyn - had to fight their way through the water masses. In New York, Sandy triggered a storm surge of 4 meters (13 feet).

Super storm Sandy

An unusual view of New York's skyline

New York is called "the city that never sleeps." But on the night from Monday to Tuesday, the world-famous skyline was almost completely dark. The dangerous hurricane dubbed "Frankenstorm" following the monster created by movie character Frankenstein caused a power outage in the city. More than 6 million people were without electricity.

Super storm Sandy

Emergency shelter

Many people who weren't able to leave New York but had to be evacuated from their homes found shelter in gyms. Slowly, people trickled in on Monday night and found a bed in this quickly set up emergency shelter at a gym in Deer Park. Some 4,000 people spent the night in such a camp. Most of those were organized by volunteers.

Super storm Sandy

Wall Street is suffering as well

Hurricane Sandy is the first storm in 27 years to bring down stock exchange trade on Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange building has been secured with sandbags. The last time the it actually closed was after the September 11 terror attacks.

Super storm Sandy

Water masses at Ground Zero

The construction site on Ground Zero in Manhattan where the memorial for the World Trade Center attack victims will be erected has to cope with fast-flowing streams and heavy rains. Until now, the existing damages caused by Sandy have been estimated to reach up to 20 billion euros ($26 billion).

Super storm Sandy

Oldest US nuclear power plant affected

Wind, storm flood and rain caused water levels to rise – which has triggered an alarm at the oldest nuclear power plant in the US on Monday night. Oyster Creek in the state of New Jersey had been shut down before the hurricane hit. But if the water levels continue to rise, the reactor's water pumps could be damaged, said the US Atomic Energy Agency.

Super storm Sandy

Obama put to the test

Until a couple of days ago, President Obama was mostly campaigning for another term in office - now the public considers him the storm's crisis manager. Obama returned to the White House on Monday after he had canceled some of his election campaign duties. Another president's popularity had been affected by a hurricane before: It was George W. Bush who lost popularity over storm Katrina in 2005.

Author: Regina Mennig / sst | Editor : Andreas Grigo